Photos by A. Tsiler, M. Tumaykin, V. Barsky and E. Kublashvili

The two heaviest hitters, Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svidler may only be on plus one after seven rounds, but luckily for them, that means a tie for first.

Of the no fewer than six players tied with 4.0/7, Jakovenko is the only one with two wins
In spite of the grumbling of the draw rate, and lest the readers think I am overstating it, take a look at the stats yourself:
Men's statistics

Out of 42 games, 32 ended in draw
Women's statistics

They might not have the Elo clout of the male players, but they make up for it in pure spunk
Still, it would be unfair to classify all the drawn games as dull affairs since inevitably some will have been the result of missed wins or successful defenses. While perusing the games, a position caught this author's eye in the game between Evgeny Tomashevsky and Alexander Riazantsev. After building a huge position, White suddenly drew three moves later. Was that correct? Surely something had been missed no? This led to a fascinating investigation of the key position, in which a winning path was found, and which the readers are invited to share and try their hand.
Evgeny Tomashevsky - Alexander Riazantsev

Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.Qc2 c6 9.Bf4 a5 10.Nbd2 Nh5 11.Be3 Bd6 12.Nb3 Qe7 13.Nc1 b5 14.c5 Bc7 15.Bg5 f6 16.Bd2 f5 17.Nd3 Bb7 18.Nfe5 Nhf6 19.Bf4 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Ng4 21.Bxc7 Qxc7 22.Qd2 b4 23.f3 Nf6 24.Ne5 Ba6 25.f4 Nd7 26.Nxd7 Qxd7 27.Bf3 Rfb8 28.Kh1 a4 29.Rg1 Qe7 30.g4 Bc8 31.Rg3 Ra7 32.e3 a3 33.b3 Qf6 34.Rag1 Re7 35.Be2 Bd7 36.Bd3 Be8 37.R1g2 Kh8 38.Kg1 Kg8 39.Qd1 Bg6 40.Qc2 Rc7 41.Qb1 Re7 - Start an analysis engine:
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Tomashevsky,E | 2724 | Riazantsev,A | 2651 | ½–½ | 2016 | E08 | 69th ch-RUS 2016 | 6.6 |
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The opportunity of seeing some of the world's greatest chess players in action is never to be spurned
Men's standings after seven rounds

All chess events running under Chess in Museums project, carried out by RCF and Timchenko Charitable Foundation, feature a special program for a rest day, which primarily aims at children. Master-classes and simultaneous displays give chess fans a chance to meet their heroes in person, test their own chess ability, and sometimes even defeat a renowned grandmaster.
The simuls ran in four different places: chess department of Junior School for Technical, Extreme, and Mind Sports (Novosibirsk), Biotechnopark (Koltsovo), Maestro Junior Chess Center (Berdsk), and Center for Junior Development and Creative Works (Toguchin). The young players met grandmasters Sergey Rublevsky (gave a simul in Novosibirsk), Evgeny Najer (went to Koltsovo), Pavel Tregubov (visited Berdsk), and Evgeny Miroshnichenko (played in Toguchin).

The children anxiously look forward to playing with a champion

Whether ribbons or giant antennae, they are impressive!

Evgeny Miroshnichenko who has lent his chess ability and fluent English to many live commentaries gave a simul

The participants all get together for Ye Olde Grouppe Photo

Neither Goryachkina or Gunina have been having the tournament they had hoped for
Ubiennykh - Bodnaruk

Black has an opportunity to secure a decisive advantage. Can you find it?
Click for the solution39... Rxe6! and now if
40. Nxe6? Qxc2+ 41. Ka1 Rxe3! 42. Qxe3 Nd3! 0-1

Olga Girya (left) has good reason to smile as she is in clear second. On the other hand, facing her is Alina Kashlinskaya, worried as she is the only player to not have won a game.
Girya - Goryachkina

White missed a chance to secure her advantage. Can you do better? White to play and win.
Click for the solution33. e5! dxe5 34. Qe2! Bf5 (34... d3 35. Qxe5+ Qf6 36. Qc7+ Qf7 37. d6) 35. Qxe5+ Qf6 36. Qc7+ Qf7 37. d6 1-0

In sole first is Alexandra Kosteniuk with 5.0/7
Women's standings after seven rounds
